


read the room

by miss_minnelli



Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Light Angst, Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23659873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_minnelli/pseuds/miss_minnelli
Summary: Crowley kisses Aziraphale on a dare and is forced to deal with the fallout.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 64
Collections: ineffable wives or female presenting





	read the room

**Author's Note:**

> A celebratory/commemorative fic for the Ineffable Wives server I started two (2) days ago. Just some fluffy nonsense for you!

The thin carpet of Anathema's aunt's basement is cold and painful under Crowley's bony arse. She crosses and uncrosses her legs, trying to get comfortable as Anathema screeches and rolls over onto her side. Scarlett folds her arms across her chest and grimaces in mock anger. 

"I swear! I didn't mean to tell him! It was an accident! Sable basically already knew you're head over Jimmy Choos for him!" 

Aziraphale pats Scarlett on the shoulder sympathetically. "Well, the good news is that he told Ana he likes you too, dear." 

Stretching her legs out, Crowley pokes Aziraphale's leg and gives her an encouraging smile. Aziraphale is alway so nice. Crowley isn't nice, but she secretly loves that quality in her best friend. Not that she loves Aziraphale...in that way. She just admires some of her qualities. Like her eyes. And tits. 

There's a bit more ribbing from the other girls in the circle: Mary, Deirdre, and Frances, all of whom went to school with Crowley, Aziraphale, Anathema, and Scarlett. 

Ana picks herself up off the floor, rubbing her shoulder where she made contact with the floor. "Okay, okay. This is my birthday party and I say we're playing Truth or Dare." She points her finger slowly at each girl in the circle and and lands on Deirdre. "Truth of Dare, Dee?"

Crowley really doesn't want to play truth or dare. She doesn't want to make out with one of Ana's posters of Brendon Urie, or try and steal one of Aunt Agnes' wine coolers. And she _really_ doesn't want to get asked about her _crush_. What she feels for Aziraphale is admittedly far past a crush at this point and she'd really rather not share with the group, especially not the lady in question. Not unless she gets some kind of sign that Aziraphale feels the same way.

Deirdre scrunches up her nose and says, "Truth, I guess."

"Who've you gone to the furthest base with in our sixth form class?" Anathema asks, rubbing her hands together as if she's just done something evil. (Crowley thinks that perhaps Ana knows she's going to make Deirdre reveal something big. She always knows certain things that no one tells her.)

Dee blushes, puts her hands up to her face and mumbles through her fingers, "Mm-hm and I did it last month." She makes the young man's name unintelligible, and Ana leans cross the circle, giggling. 

"Who'd you do it with Deirdre?" Ana sing-songs.

Frances elbows Dee in the ribs. "You can tell us, come on Dee."

Deirdre moves her hands away from her face and blushes even harder as everyone stares at her. "Agh, it was Arthur, okay? And afterward he told me he loves me! What am I supposed to do with that? Sixth form is nearly over."

"Men, what are you going to do?" Mary says, commiserating. 

Crowley can't resist butting in. "The lesbians are always welcoming new members. Just saying. I was able to get in without an application, you know." 

Aziraphale gives Crowley a look and she shrugs back.

" _Moving on_ ," starts Ana, rolling her eyes at Crowley, "It's Dee's turn. Who do you pick?"

They go on like this for a while and both Frances and Mary admit to embarrassing crushes on boys from their rival school. Scarlett even has to lick the bottom of a shoe, but at least it's Aziraphale's shoe. She'd never be caught dead stepping in dog shit or anything. 

After Scarlett aggressively rinses out her mouth in the basement bathroom, she picks Crowley. "Truth or dare?"

Crowley decides her best bet is to pick dare, since that guarantees she won't have to reveal any _feelings_. 

"Okay, hmm," Scarlett pauses and looks around the room, her eyes landing on Aziraphale, "I dare you to kiss Aziraphale." She looks quite proud of herself. Damn, Crowley should never have told Anathema about her crush. Now it seems like everyone miraculously knows. Hopefully Aziraphale doesn't. 

Crowley swallows and manages to glance at Aziraphale whose expression gives nothing away. Her poker face is not helping Crowley out right now. Throwing a knowing glare at Scarlett, Crowley asks, "Aziraphale, is that alright?"

"Oh, I don't see any problem with that, dear." 

Great, she's being cheeky now. Well, Crowley will show her what she gets for being cheeky. A bloody fucking good kiss, that's what. She gets up from her spot on the carpet and rounds the circle to Aziraphale. She crouches down onto her knees and places one hand on Aziraphale's cheek and other on her shoulder for balance. Then, she leans down and softly presses her lips against Aziraphale's. Her lips are softer than Crowley could have imagined. Crowley'd kissed a fair few girls in the last few years, but nothing compares to kissing someone you really have feelings for. It is heavenly. She begins to move her lips gently, keeping the kiss chaste- they are surrounded by their friends after all- but getting a feel for Aziraphale's mouth. Aziraphale kisses back timidly. If this is Crowley's only chance to kiss this angel of a girl, she's going to make it count. 

Suddenly, Aziraphale pulls back. She scrambles to her feet, grabs her purse, and mutters a bunch of garbled words, the gist of which is that she has to go.

"Wait!" Calls Crowley. She hasn't moved from where she's knelt on floor. She turns her head toward the basement stairs and watches Aziraphale ascend, running away from her. Defeated, Crowley sinks down to rest her arse on her heels. "Thanks, Scarlett. Are you happy now?"

Scarlett has the decency to look apologetic. 

Ana stands and throws up her hands. "You idiot. You're supposed to go after her! That's how you get the girl. What a dumb-ass." She stuffs her feet into her unironic bunny slippers and chases after Aziraphale in lieu of Crowley. 

Crowley wants to scream. What did she do? God, why did she even come to this party anyway? She hates stupid games and most of the girls sitting around her. The answer, of course, is Aziraphale; Crowley came to this party because Aziraphale asked her nicely and fluttered her pretty, long eyelashes.

The remaining girls sit in a stunned silence. Frances manages to speak first. "Uh, so is the party over then?"

Mary glares at her. "Read the room, Fran." 

Crowley can't stand the tense basement air any longer, so she gets up and groans in the direction of the other girls. They quietly return a muttered goodbye and Crowley slinks out of the Ana's basement. This was all a mistake. A horrible terrible mistake and stupid Scarlett ruined everything between her and Aziraphale.

...

Crowley lays in her bed an hour later, eyes glued to her phone, hoping she might receive a message from Aziraphale. Something. Anything to give her hope that their friendship is salvageable. Instead, she gets a text from Anathema, which reads, _You're an idiot_. 

Great. Just what Crowley needs. She tosses her phone across the room onto her armchair and attempts for the next hour and a half to fall asleep, only to get up for a snack at half-past one in the morning. Retrieving a bag of pretzels from her desk drawer, Crowley moves to sit in her armchair and finally acknowledges her phone. She almost spits out a mouthful of pretzels when she sees that she's missed eleven texts from Aziraphale in the past hour and a half. The last one is from ten minutes ago. 

Texts from **Angel** :   
**11:58** : Can we talk?  
 **12:15** : I'm sorry.  
 **12:21** : Seriously, Crowley. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out.  
 **12:22** : I need to talk to you in person.   
**12:30** : Fine. Don't answer.  
 **12:34** : I know you're not asleep  
 **12:47** : Please text me back. Even to tell me you hate me  
 **12:49** : Now I'm worried that you're not safe  
 **12:58** : Just tell me to fuck off. I will if you want  
 **1:10** : If you're asleep just ignore this   
**1:17** : Please call me I'm losing my mind

Crowley thinks she might cry. Why did she have to abandon her phone for so long? Fuck, Crowley has to call her. 

The line rings for far too long and Crowley wonders if she's too late. Maybe Aziraphale finally went to sleep. 

"Crowley?" Aziraphale's voice is raw, probably from crying. 

"Yeah. Hi, angel. I'm sorry I didn't call. I wasn't asleep but I was away from my phone. Anyway. Doesn't matter. I'm rambling." Crowley manages to shut her mouth and leaves an opening for Aziraphale to speak.

Aziraphale is quiet for a long moment. "I am sorry for running away earlier. I just- could you come over? The usual spot?"

Crowley agrees and they hang up. What is happening? She gets her breathing under control and picks up her combat boots. Her dad is asleep by now, but she pokes her head out into the hallway to check that all the lights are off anyway. Everything is dark and quiet, so Crowley walks lightly through the hallway, into the kitchen, and out the backdoor of her and her father's little cottage.

On her back stoop, Crowley perches and pulls on her boots. Aziraphale's house is a ten minute walk from hers, but it's a much bigger property. She reaches it quickly, practically scurrying around in the dark, luckily not encountering anyone on the village roads. There's a chunk of broken fence at the back of Mr. and Mrs. Fell's property, which Crowley has snuck in and out of many times before. She pushes away some brush and creeps through the opening. Her and Aziraphale's "usual spot" is an old white gazebo secluded near the back edge of the property. It's mostly unused now, but there's a rickety bench that Crowley's grown to love despite the splinters. 

Crowley catches a glimpse of Aziraphale's golden curls shining in the moonlight, and isn't that fucking poetic. She hopes with all that she's made of that Aziraphale has invited her over to kiss her senseless, not to snap her heart in half, but Crowley's tired mind can't help but lean in a pessimistic direction. 

Aziraphale stands when she sees Crowley trudging through the dying grass and shrubs. She looks like she's glowing in the dim light of the solar powered lantern she's holding and Crowley aches. 

Finally reaching the gazebo, Crowley slows down and steps carefully on its well-worn stairs. Aziraphale sits back down on the bench, and motions for Crowley to join her. She does, and Aziraphale goes to reach for her hand, but apparently thinks better of that.

"Hi," Aziraphale says in a small voice.

Crowley returns the greeting with a weak smile. "So..."

"Right. Crowley, I- I don't quite know how to say this. I didn't mean to make a huge deal of this, but since I clearly already have, I feel like I need to explain myself."

The spark of hope in Crowley's chest fizzles out. This isn't going to be the best moment of her life thus far. She can now see that it's going to be the worst. "Just say it. Please," she begs, turning away from Aziraphale and looking off at the soft lights on in the distant house where Aziraphale lives. 

"Kissing you was the happiest I've ever felt."

Crowley whips her head around. She opens her mouth, and out pour all the unsaid feelings from the past several hours.   
"Why did you run? I thought you wanted me to kiss you, angel, but you left and I thought I'd ruined this- us- our friendship, our- I don't know." She shuts her mouth and _kissing you was the happiest i've ever felt_ plays on repeat in her mind.

Taking a deep breath, Aziraphale grabs Crowley's hand in one swift motion, like if she moves slowly she'll chicken out. "I'm so sorry, dear. I got scared. Terrified that I'd get to kiss you once and then never again. I couldn't bear it. I didn't know if you felt...the way I do."

Crowley wants reassure her, but she finds that she can't say the words. She can't bare her wants and _feelings_ to Aziraphale without knowing for certain that they will be reciprocated. 

Perhaps Aziraphale understands that, or perhaps she can't keep it inside any longer, because Aziraphale says it out loud first. "I like you Crowley. Way more than is appropriate to like your best friend. I think I might even love you." Her voice lowers to a whisper at the last sentence. She looks down at their hands, probably to avoid Crowley's eyes. Crowley squeezes the hand holding Aziraphale's and brings her other hand up to Aziraphale's cheek. 

"You've no idea how long I've wanted to do this properly, angel. No dare, just us." Crowley leans forward and presses her forehead against Aziraphale's. "I think I love you too," she whispers and then she kisses _her_ angel, softly at first, then a bit more frantically than she intended. Aziraphale kisses her back and matches her enthusiasm. 

When they finally have to break apart to breathe, Aziraphale reaches up and strokes her hand through Crowley's hair. "Come on. You're sleeping over. I can't send you home now. And before you say anything, screw what my mom or your dad says. I'll take the blame. I owe you this, Crowley."

"You don't owe me anything, angel." 

Aziraphale brushes Crowley's cheek with her thumb. "I know, but I want to cuddle with you tonight, and I'll do whatever it takes."

"We could-"

"No, you wild woman, we're not sleeping out here!"

Crowley pouts, but sighs in concession. "I guess I'll settle for your trundle bed then, angel." Aziraphale stands and pulls Crowley up with her. You nerd. Let's go." 

Crowley wraps her arm around Aziraphale's and follows her inside. The promise of cuddles with her angel is quite enough incentive for her. 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr at miss-minnelli :D


End file.
